William A. Egan

William Allen Egan ( born October 8, 1914 in Valdez, Alaska; † 6 May 1984) was an American politician of the Democratic Party and the first governor of the State of Alaska.

Career

Before William Egan went into politics, he served during World War II in the U.S. Army, worked in a mine, was a pilot and the owner of Valdez General Store. Egan was in 1941 elected to the House of Representatives of the Alaska Territory, where he served for ten years and its Speaker, he was in 1951. In addition, he was elected in 1946 as mayor of Valdez. He was also a 1953-1955 member of the Territorial Senate from Alaska, as well as a delegate and presiding director of the Alaska Statehood Constitutional Convention 1955-1956. On June 30, 1958, the U.S. Congress the Alaska Statehood Act, which meant goodbye, that Egan up his position for election for the office of governor of Alaska and was elected the first governor of Alaska. He was re-elected for a second term in 1962, which was finished in 1966 with another attempt, but was in 1970 elected for a third term. During his terms, he worked to make Alaska's vast natural resources available, so began an era of expansion and change for the state. He ran again in 1974 for the office, but was defeated just by Jay Hammond. William Allen Egan died on 6 May 1984. He was married to Neva McKittrick, with whom he had a child together.

Honors

He received the 1965 honorary Doctor of Laws from the Alaska Methodist University, and in 1972 by the University of Alaska.